The Asylum List
In 1914 there were over one hundred thousand patients within over one hundred mental institutions around the United Kingdom, the majority of these institutions were built since the passing of the County Asylum / Lunacy Act in 1845. With the passing of the care in the community act in the 1980’s, many of these institutions have since closed; only a few of them remain open and in the use for mental health services.
The original county asylums list was first compiled by Dr. Jeremy Taylor for his definitive publication Hospital And Asylum Architecture 1840-1914 then later updated by both Simon Cornwell and Peter Cracknell. We have since modified this list to what we believe to be the most accurate county asylum list for England and Wales.
The list comprises of 119 County Asylums in both England and Wales. We have also added a further list for additional asylums/hospitals that we do not believe come under the county asylum list but are noteworthy inclusions to the website.
Scotland had its own, separate, acts and we have included a list of royal, district and other asylums on a seperate tab.
↓ Click on the asylum name for individual history & photos
County Asylums
| Name | Location | Managing County | Original Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Saints | Birmingham | Warwickshire | First Birmingham Borough Asylum |
| Banstead | Belmont | Middlesex | Third (old) Middlesex County Asylum |
| Barnsley Hall | Bromsgrove | Worcestershire | Worcester County Asylum |
| Barrow | Barrow Gurney | Gloucestershire | Bristol City Mental Hospital |
| Bedford | Bedford | Bedfordshire | Bedford Asylum |
| Bexley | Dartford | London | Seventh London County Asylum, Dartford Heath |
| Broadgate | Beverley | Yorkshire | East Riding County Asylum |
| Brookwood | Woking | Surrey | Second Surrey County Asylum |
| Calderstones | Clitheroe | Lancashire | Sixth Lancashire Asylum/ Calderstones Institution |
| Cane Hill | Coulsdon | Surrey | Third (old) Surrey County Asylum |
| Carlton Hayes | Narborough | Leicestershire | Leicestershire and Rutland Asylum |
| Caterham | Caterham | London | Metropolitan Asylums Board – Caterham Imbecile Asylum |
| Cefn Coed | Swansea | Glamorgan | Swansea Borough Asylum |
| Central | Hatton | Warwickshire | Warwickshire County Lunatic Asylum |
| Cherry Knowle | Ryhope | County Durham | Sunderland Borough Asylum |
| Claybury | Redbridge | London | Fifth LCC Pauper Lunatic Asylum |
| Clifton | York | Yorkshire | City of York and North and East Ridings Joint Asylum |
| Coney Hill | Gloucester | Gloucestershire | Second Gloucestershire County Asylum |
| Darenth Park | Dartford | Kent | Metropolitan Asylums Board – Darenth Asylum and Schools |
| De La Pole | Willerby, Hull | Yorkshire | Kingston upon Hull Borough Asylum |
| Deva | Chester | Cheshire | First Cheshire County Lunatic Asylum |
| Digby | Exeter | Devon | Exeter City Lunatic Asylum |
| Exminster | Exeter | Devon | Devon County Pauper Lunatic Asylum |
| Fairfield | Stotfold | Bedfordshire | Bedford Lunatic Asylum |
| Fair Mile | Cholsey | Berkshire | Berkshire Newbury and Reading Joint (Moulsford) Asylum |
| Forston | Charminster | Dorset | First Dorsetshire County Asylum |
| Friern | Barnet | Middlesex | Middlesex County Pauper Asylum, Colney Hatch |
| Fulbourn | Cambridge | Cambridgeshire | Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely Joint Counties Asylum |
| Garlands | Carleton | Cumberland | Cumberland and Westmorland Joint Counties Asylum |
| Glanrhyd | Bridgend | Glamorgan | First Glamorgan County Asylum, Angleton |
| Glenside | Bristol | Gloucestershire | Bristol City Asylum |
| Goodmayes | Chadwell | Essex | West Ham Borough Lunatic Asylum |
| Graylingwell | Chichester | Sussex | West Sussex County Asylum |
| Haverfordwest | Haverfordwest | Pembrokeshire | Havefordwest Borough Asylum |
| Hellingly | Hellingly | Sussex | East Sussex Asylum |
| Hellesdon | Norfolk | Norfolk | Second (new) Norwich Borough Asylum |
| Herrison | Dorchester | Dorset | Second Dorset County Lunatic Asylum |
| High Royds | Menston | Yorkshire | West Riding Asylum |
| Hill End | St Albans | Hertfordshire | Hertfordshire County Asylum |
| Hollymoor | Birmingham | Warwickshire | Third Birmingham City Asylum |
| Horton | Epsom | London | Seventh London County Council Asylum |
| Horton Road | Gloucester | Gloucestershire | First Gloucestershire County Asylum |
| Hull | Kingston upon Hull | Yorkshire | Hull and East Riding Refuge |
| Kingsway | Derby | Derbyshire | Derby Borough Lunatic Asylum |
| Knowle | Fareham | Hampshire | First Hampshire County Lunatic Asylum |
| Lancaster Moor | Lancaster | Lancashire | First Lancashire County Pauper Lunatic Asylum |
| Leavesden | Abbots Langley | Hertfordshire | Metropolitan Asylums Board – Leavesden Imbecile Asylum |
| Leicestershire | Leicester | Leicestershire | First Leicestershire Asylum |
| Littlemore | Oxford | Oxfordshire | Oxfordshire County Pauper Lunatic Asylum |
| Long Grove | Epsom | London | Tenth London County Asylum |
| Manor | Epsom | London | Sixth London County Asylum |
| Mapperley | Nottingham | Nottinghamshire | Nottingham Borough Asylum |
| Maudsley | Camberwell | London | The Maudsley Neurological Clearing Hospital |
| Mendip | Wells | Somerset | Somerset And Bath County Asylum |
| Mid Wales | Talgarth | Breconshire | Mid Wales Counties Mental Hospital |
| Middlewood | Wadsley | Yorkshire | Second West Riding of Yorkshire County Asylum |
| Moorhaven | Plymouth | Devon | Plymouth Borough Asylum |
| Naburn | Fulford | Yorkshire | York City Asylum |
| Napsbury | St Albans | Middlesex | Second (new) Middlesex County Asylum |
| Netherne | Hooley | Surrey | Surrey County Asylum |
| North Wales | Denbigh | Denbighshire | North Wales Counties Lunatic Asylum |
| Norwich | Norwich | Norfolk | First (old) Norwich Borough Asylum |
| Oakwood | Maidstone | Kent | First Kent County Asylum |
| Parc | Bridgend | Glamorgan | Second Glamorganshire Asylum, Parc Gwyllt |
| Park Prewett | Sherborne St.John | Hampshire | Second Hampshire County Lunatic Asylum |
| Parkside | Macclesfield | Cheshire | Second Cheshire County Asylum |
| Pastures | Derby | Derbyshire | Derbyshire County Asylum |
| Pen-Y-Fal | Abergavenny | Monmouthshire | Joint Counties Lunatic Asylum |
| Powick | Powick | Worcestershire | First Worcestershire County Lunatic Asylum |
| Prestwich | Manchester | Lancashire | Second Lancashire County Asylum |
| Rainhill | Prescot | Lancashire | Third Lancashire County Asylum |
| Rauceby | Sleaford | Lincolnshire | Kesteven County Asylum |
| Roundway | Devizes | Wiltshire | Wiltshire County Asylum |
| Rubery Hill | Birmingham | Warwickshire | Second Birmingham Borough Asylum |
| Runwell | Chelmsford | Essex | Runwell Mental Hospital |
| Saxondale | Nottingham | Nottinghamshire | Second Nottinghamshire County Asylum |
| Scalebor Park | Burley In Wharfedale | Yorkshire | West Riding Private Asylum (Scalebor Park) |
| Severalls | Colchester | Essex | Second Essex County Asylum |
| Shelton | Shrewsbury | Shropshire | Shropshire and Wenlock Borough Lunatic Asylum |
| Shenley | Radlett | Middlesex | Third (new) Middlesex County Mental Hospital |
| Sneinton | Nottingham | Nottinghamshire | Nottingham Asylum |
| Springfield | Wandsworth | Surrey | Surrey County Asylum |
| St Andrew’s | Norwich | Norfolk | Norfolk County Lunatic Asylum |
| St Audry’s | Melton | Suffolk | Suffolk County Asylum for Pauper Lunatics |
| St Augustine’s | Chartham | Kent | Second Kent County Asylum |
| St Bernard’s | Ealing | Middlesex | Middlesex County Asylum/Hanwell Asylum |
| St Cadoc’s | Newport | Monmouthshire | Newport Borough Mental Hospital |
| St Clement’s | Ipswich | Suffolk | Ipswich Borough Mental Hospital |
| St Crispin | Duston | Northamptonshire | Northampton County Lunatic Asylum |
| St David’s | Carmarthen | Carmarthenshire | The United Lunatic Asylum for Cardigan, Carmarthen, Glamorgan and Pembroke |
| St Ebba’s | Epsom | London | Ewell Epileptic Colony |
| St Edward’s | Cheddleton | Staffordshire | Third Staffordshire County Asylum |
| St Francis | Haywards Heath | Sussex | Sussex County Asylum |
| St George’s (Stafford) | Stafford | Staffordshire | First Staffordshire County Lunatic Asylum |
| St George’s (Morpeth) | Morpeth | Northumberland | County Pauper Lunatic Asylum for Northumberland |
| St James’ | Portsmouth | Hampshire | Portsmouth Borough Asylum |
| St John’s (Bracebridge Heath) | Bracebridge Heath | Lincolnshire | Lincolnshire County Pauper Lunatic Asylum |
| St John’s (Stone) | Stone | Buckinghamshire | Buckinghamshire County Lunatic Asylum |
| St Lawrence’s | Bodmin | Cornwall | Cornwall County Lunatic Asylum |
| St Luke’s | Middlesbrough | Yorkshire | Middlesbrough Borough Asylum |
| St Martin’s | Canterbury | Kent | Canterbury Borough Asylum |
| St Mary’s (Burghill) | Burghill | Herefordshire | Herefordshire County Lunatic Asylum |
| St Mary’s (North Saltwick) | Stannington | County Durham | Gateshead Borough Asylum |
| St Matthew’s | Burntwood | Staffordshire | Second Staffordshire County Pauper Lunatic Asylum |
| St Nicholas’s | Coxlodge | Northumberland | Newcastle upon Tyne Borough Lunatic Asylum |
| Stanley Royd | Wakefield | Yorkshire | West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum |
| Stone House | Dartford | Kent | City of London Lunatic Asylum |
| Storthes Hall | Kirkburton | Yorkshire | Fourth West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum |
| The Towers | Humberstone | Leicestershire | Leicester Borough Lunatic Asylum |
| Tone Vale | Taunton | Somerset | Somerset County Asylum |
| Tooting Bec | Tooting | London | Metropolitan Asylums Board – Tooting Bec Asylum |
| Warley | Brentwood | Essex | Essex County Lunatic Asylum |
| Warlingham Park | Chelsham | Surrey | Croydon Borough Asylum |
| West Park | Epsom | London | Eleventh London County Mental Hospital |
| Whitchurch | Whitchurch | Glamorgan | Cardiff City Mental Hospital |
| Whitecroft | Newport (IOW) | Hampshire | Isle of Wight County Asylum |
| Whittingham | Preston | Lancashire | Fourth Lancashire County Asylum |
| Winterton | Sedgefield | County Durham | Durham County Asylum |
| Winwick | Warrington | Lancashire | Fifth Lancashire County Asylum |
Other Institutions
| Name | Type | Location | Managing County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashworth Hospital | Criminal Asylum | Liverpool | Lancashire |
| Bethlem Royal Hospital | Subscription Asylum | London | London |
| Bootham Park Hospital | Subscription Asylum | York | Yorkshire |
| Broadmoor Hospital | Criminal Asylum | Crowthorne | Berkshire |
| Cheadle Royal Hospital | Subscription Asylum | Cheadle | Cheshire |
| Fountain Hospital | ex Fever Hospital | Tooting | London |
| Rampton Hospital | Criminal Asylum | Retford | Nottinghamshire |
| Royal Albert Hospital | Subscription Asylum | Lancaster | Lancashire |
| Royal Earlswood Hospital | Subscription Asylum | Redhill | Surrey |
| Royal Holloway Hospital | Private Asylum | Virginia Water | Surrey |
| St Luke’s Hospital | Subscription Asylum | London | London |
| The Coppice Hospital | Subscription Asylum | Nottingham | Nottinghamshire |
| The Lawn Hospital | Subscription Asylum | Lincoln | Lincolnshire |
| The Retreat | Private Asylum | York | Yorkshire |
| Warneford Hospital | Subscription Asylum | Headington | Oxfordshire |
Scottish Asylums
Royal Asylums
| Name | Location | Original Name |
| Sunnyside | Montrose | Montrose Lunatic Asylum |
| Cornhill | Aberdeen | Aberdeen Lunatic Asylum |
| Royal Edinburgh | Edinburgh | Edinburgh Lunatic Asylum |
| Gartnavel | Glasgow | Glasgow Lunatic Asylum |
| Liff | Dundee | Dundee Lunatic Asylum |
| Murray Royal | Perth | James Murray’s Royal Lunatic Asylum |
| Crichton | Dumfries | The Crichton Institution for Lunatics |
District Asylums
| Name | Location | Original Name |
| Argyll & Bute | Lochgilphead | Argyll District Asylum |
| Murthly | Murthly | Perth District Asylum |
| Craig Dunain | Inverness | Inverness District Asylum |
| Ladysbridge | Banff | Banffshire District Lunacy Asylum |
| Stratheden | Cupar | Fife and Kinross District Asylum |
| Herdmanflat | Haddington | Lothian District Asylum |
| Ailsa | Ayr | Ayr District Asylum |
| Bellsdyke | Larbert | Stirling District Asylum |
| Dingleton | Melrose | Roxburgh District Asylum |
| Rosslynlee | Roslin | Midlothian & Peebles District Asylum |
| Riccartsbar | Paisley | Paisley District Asylum |
| Kirklands | Bothwell | Kirklands District Asylum |
| Hartwood | Shotts | Lanark District Asylum |
| Hawkhead/Leverndale | Crookston | Govan District Asylum |
| Gartloch | Gartcosh | Glasgow District Asylum |
| Westgreen | Dundee | Dundee District Asylum |
| Kingseat | Newmachar | Aberdeen District Asylum |
| Bangour | Dechmont | Edinburgh District Asylum |
| Dykebar | Paisley | Renfrew District Asylum |
Other
| Name | Location | Original Name |
| Bilbohall | Elgin | Elgin District Asylum |
| Woodilee | Lenzie | Barony Parochial Asylum |
| Ravenscraig | Greenock | Greenock Parochial Asylum |